Food: Yogourmet Yogurt Maker

If you're reading this blog, you're probably a do-it-yourselfer on some level. Whether you do your tinkering at the reloading bench, on the kitchen counter, or on a printed circuit board, you refuse to just consume things as they are from the factory. The latest weapon in your war against the mundane? The Yogourmet electric yogurt maker:



That's right, why mess with store-bought yogurt when you can make your own by the quartful? Yogourmet takes the guesswork out of culturing a good yogurt by holding the temperature of your yogurt mix at the right level for hours and hours at a time. Sure, you could accomplish it manually, but Yogourmet eliminates the tedium. Just scald your milk mixture, add a starter, and dump in the Yogourmet.

The yogurt produced varies in taste and consistency depending on the milk and starter used, but the Stonyfield Farm-cultured stuff that I had was delicious. It was pleasantly tart, with a creamy, custard-like texture that went well with granola and fruit. It was as good as any grocery store yogurt I've ever had, but it cost about ten times less (instead of $1 for 6 ounces, it was more like $1 for two quarts).

You probably won't find Yogourmet on store shelves (when some guy is picking inventory, "electric yogourt maker" doesn't jump out as a hot seller), but it's worth a look if you want control over your yogurt.